corta765

Let me first start off by saying yea last night stunk and for many fans a gut punch of the worst kind. For others the Bills lived up or rather down to the fears they expected. With all of that said lets be a little bit rational with our approach and thoughts as fans. I 100% understand your feelings if you want McD gone as this does not feel. If you feel like that or some other pretty strong feelings understand that what I say below probably won't satisfy your feelings today and come back a few days from now haha With that said here we go: McD Bad Coaching Year: Lets just go out and say this has been his worst year coaching and truthfully the coaching staffs worst year since he started in 2017. As I said above if you want him fired I get your frustration, but use some perspective or come back 2 days and read this. The standard has changed and elevated since McD has gotten here which is awesome and something he deserves heaps of credit for. Within 5 years we went from just hoping to break the playoffs to accepting that a title is something we should at least hope for. The flipside of that is the Bills have climbed the proverbial mountain to the point there is much left to climb other then a title so successes feel less big and failures larger. A year after his best coaching job his team just looks all over the place and that goes straight to the top. Last nights game alone was a synopsis on the coaching issues that have frustrated many: -Down 8-0 in a game where scoring was coming at a premium the Bills get a TD and then.... kick a FG to still be down. One of the best things about McD the prior two years was the teams evolution to playing a burn the ships type mindset. If we lost we lost throwing everything out there right down to the kitchen sink. What difference did it make going for two vs FG. Either your tied or your down, didn't make a difference. This type of in game questioning has been constant all season and since the Titans loss when they went for it on 4th down the team has looked incredibly nervous and conservative as if that game short circuited him. -The offense which had a solid identity on offense the prior two years (2019 strong running team with complementary passing, 2020 fast passing attack) just looks lost at points and uncreative. Like the other losses (minus IND) there was a lack of play action, movement pre snap, running Josh on a night he could've and should've been used and just general creativity. -Many weeks the Bills have looked like a team expecting success just because they have in the past. I have said this in numerous posts but the first four seasons I never once questioned the play and intensity of the team. This year in multiple wins and losses I have questioned what the heck they are doing and their focus. This goes back to the guy leading the team. Yes this team seems to have a propensity to not doing well with tough line play, but prior Bills teams overcame talent issues like this and managed. This team just hasn't been able to do so. -Buffalo many weeks seems to be playing catch up with game design rather then dictating what is happening which again goes back to the coach. Defenses across the NFL have adjusted to years of high passing attacks to forcing a more patient approach something the Bills just don't seem fully adjusted to. So yea if you feel McD has been bad this year your right to an extent. Many of the things above he was far better at in the prior years and mixed with the highest expectations the club has had in a while its a combo of puke all at once. With that said this isn't the end even if the season does go off the cliff for good. Sports are not linear and for coaches the most difficult thing in my opinion once your team has had success is managing expectations and focus. Many times coaches themselves have to fail before they learn that themselves. There is a laundry list of coaches and teams (1989 Bills are a popular one brought up here) who after the first big break through regress a bit before moving forward for real. I said a month ago this was the biggest challenge McD had faced since he became coach and the Peterman mess, right now he seems to be losing this challenge. Daboll: I already covered some of this but he has had a bad year also. Part of this stems though from what is looking like an ideology clash between Sean and Brian. I think Sean has seen enough this season and is trying to tell Daboll to run and balance things more. Daboll to me is been vanilla and lacked creativity, but I also think he understands the Bills are at their best passing with how they are designed. Neither are right and neither are wrong, but part of the lack of identity comes from what seems to be the clash of these ideas. The biggest issue to me is they are protecting Josh too much. In far too many games that were close like NE or JAX they barely used Josh as a runner. Listen I get running your franchise QB is a risk, but he is also really good at it and the defenses have been leaving it out there. The same with play action or pre snap movement which are both things Allen excels at. For whatever reason the play design and calls have been incredibly porus. With that said Josh and Sean would both credit a lot of Joshs growth to Daboll. Regardless of where this season goes I would expect him to be back next season and the offense is going to evolve a bit to a bit more like the 2019 style that runs a bit better to setup Josh's best assets. Allen- It is funny I was nervous of regression from Allen, yet his numbers are pretty close to equal from last year and overall he has had another strong year. If there is one thing I miss from Josh it is the end of game killer instinct. Prior to this year he has had multiple game winning drives each season and generally seemed to thrive. Whether it is the offense, bad luck, some poor play, or just the way the cards have fallen he is 0-4 this year after last night which is a little surprising to me. The Bills were 5-1 in one score games last year vs 0-4 this year so some of it is statistics working there way back, but I do agree that he has been a little off in an area you could always count on him. With that said last night was not on Josh he was one of the few bright spots and it sucks I left feeling the team let him down. Playoffs/Division: Football is the dumbest sport out there because of how things change so fast week by week. Despite the loss Buffalo could lose win out there last 4 games and with a NE loss still win the division. I do not expect that to happen as I think the Jags game on has exposed them a bit as just not being there year, but no one knows anything. The eye test doesn't sit too good right now, but win the next two games and the NE rematch feels different. I guess what I am saying is it is 1000% fair to feel like this is looking pretty dire, but this is a really really weird sport where weird reigns supreme. The Bills to me look like a 6-7 seed playoff team that we will all look and say after losing well they came close and repeat all the issues we've said all year for their loss. Long Term: I understand that everyone wants the offensive line overhauled and the defense to get better at pass rushing in the offseason. There is absolutely room for both, but the bigger picture for me is what direction is the league moving in and how do the Bills stay with. The Bills have a lot of talent across the board and the biggest thing they need to do which they failed at in my eyes this offseason is evolving that talent whereas the Bills just seemed to bring the band back from round 2. Improving the lines is a needed fix, but just is needed is adding players who will maximize our best players talents. Identity keeps being the buzz word, but for good reason and it will be the largest question that needs addressing on offense especially for what they want to do. The same goes for the defense in terms of addressing the run. It is easy to say they need another run stopper, the bigger question is adding people who don't take away from the Bills success against the pass. That is all I have to say. If you read this thank you regardless of whether you agree or it angered you or your indifferent. This has been a frustrating season of sorts as at points the Bills have looked like title contenders and at other points the look like a team that is drafting mid round. If you were at last nights game credit to you for sticking it out despite the weather and end result. The Bills are just 3-3 at home which is pretty annoying as a fans considering the energy the fans put in and support for the team.

2014-2017 Bills then

Denver reminds me of the Bills 2013-14 Defense is good enough to win 10-11 games with, but offense is porus enough to stop that.

I already view the Pats that way which is why to me tonight's another game nothing more nothing less. It simply comes down to the fact we have an MVP caliber QB which we have always wanted with a good roster. Once you have that guy as far as I am considered its about the big picture every year which is SB. I fully expect that over the next 10 years plus while Josh is the dude the Pats, Phins, & maybeeee the Jets... (honestly who the hell knows with that org) to be good and be threats to the division on conference in general. That doesn't change the goal or expectation other then that if we lose I will ask what our guys did to lose it. Pre Josh yea I probably would've hyped this game up like everyone else, but the expectations of where we should be and what we should do have changed everything. I understand why a lot of fans are the way they are, but this last week has been borderline insufferable with how fatalistic Bills fans have been. Truthfully I love these games its what sports are about. If the Bills want to view themselves as a title team then win, if you don't it is not the end of the world either though and I will not let it destroy the big picture. God willing thanks to Josh and the team Buffalo's established we will have 3-5 games yearly fans feel like this. I do agree when it has been this long it's hard to move past what occurred before, but since 2017 Buffalo has proven to be a good team and fans need to really trust that more then they do.

In the grand scheme this game is not as important as apparently everyone in buffalo is making it out to be. They could lose tonight and win out and take the division. They could win tonight and only lose the Pats game after this and still win the division. The amount of drought level fear with Bills fans right now is nearing the point of fatally pathetic.

We have literally the most insecure fanbase ever

As a Bills fan I would say Buffalo fans have a gigantic insecurity issue with Boston teams in general. I think it actually stems from the fact Boston fans culturally are far similar to Buffalo fans personality wise then a market like NYC or Chicago etc... which is similar in size. Then throw in 20 years of the Pats running rough shot and its perfect combo for some true jealously and outlandish takes. Personally I agree that Boston is a superb sports town and the Pats are at least 3 on the totem pole as Soxs and Celts are the kings when they are good. The Pats prior to Kraft/Parcells were never a premier team in the NFL, but they have evolved into at least a solid fanbase at this point which as a division rival infuriates our fans even more. I don't see why that is an issue for the fanbase to become something as I think for any of the "elite" fanbases (Packers/Bills/Steelers) having success only helps to grow the energy you see now. For major markets like a Boston area success breeds into a large semi obnoxious following but that is partially media created (same way Dallas is so big despite nothing since 96). Browns fans are like the lone wolves in the success thing/popularity, but that's partially recency bias. Through most of the Browns history until they basically moved they were one of the more respected franchises despite no SB.

Brady was looked at as a decent to good QB 2001-2003. 2004 he took off where you could say "Ok this cat is a different breed" as not only did he win his second SB the year prior, but he had a superb season as NE dominated throughout and then another really nice playoff. Prior to that there was no doubt NE made the right decision to keep him, but he wasn't the best or even Top 5 QB at the time.

Yea figures with the Jets being the Jets but through 2004 Pennington was very good for them and the 2004 season they should've made the AFC title as Pennington drove them to win at the end of the 4th quarter against PIT in the divisional round only for their kicker to miss and then miss again on a Big Ben turnover. That cuff injury unfortunately ended what looked to be a pretty positive career long term, there is 100% a parallel universe when Pennington took on Brady yearly and had some success which limited their dynasty. I would also add the Jets actually developed him well for once as Vinny took the team his first two years. Imagine if they had that patience again.

Mac is a better passer then Baker and his size helps him better. Baker talent wise and healthy probably is a bigger playmaker in terms of talent, but Jones decision making and passing abilities look much better. The Chad Pennington comparisons are dead on and idk why people see that is a criticism, Chad without injury had the talent to take a team pretty far. Jones with a coach like BB and the system they have works great. Long term IDK where he ends up honestly no QB should be compared to Brady, but I can absolutely see him as a guy who is around for 10 years and has success like Matt Ryan. Bills fans shouldn't be insecure about this Allen is yearly an MVP caliber QB now so have some faith with our guy he can get it done. If Mac does to so be it

Well they say that 15-20% of married couples cheat. Including people just in relationships we are looking at a few thousand cheaters in the crowd and that is just with other people. I def cheated in video games and on a few tests and im sure many others have. Truthfully this could be a really big cheating gathering with anywhere from 40 - 50,000 people cheating in some capacity.

Pat on the back

I think the point is more this season has been an unusually bad season in terms of weather compared to the previous seasons. The Washington game was the only one thus far that was truly a good day for football. The Texans/Colts were awful washouts and Steelers/Dolphins high wind days (I was not there this is what I was told). It isn't unusual for a game or two to have adverse weather, but I do agree with the OP that this year has had a seemingly larger amount of truly heavy weather games and heading into December it doesn't seem to be letting up.

Agreed, personally I think they only lose at NE and TB, but prior performance says they beat NE and at TB and proceed to lose to CAR and at NE because nothing makes sense haha

For those of you who watched the Lions game on Thanksgiving, I found myself as angry as if the Bills lost to the Jaguars again. The Jags loss I think will unfortunately be a loss that becomes a missed opportunity that could haunt us. Had they just beat Jax Buffalo is the #1 seed with space on NE. Now even if they win division I see us most likely on the road for the AFC title which blows. It reminds me of the Packers in 2014 when the loss to Buffalo cost them homefield in the title. I hope this isn't our outcomes. 1 - Tre - The issue is less the secondary itself and more the defense having to adjust as a whole. A talent like Tre allows so much more in coverage so the rest of the unit can do other things. The Bills pass rush now has increased emphasis to make disruption to help the back side. Leadership wise it is a hit but the defense has leaders, talent on the other hand never is fully replaceable. That said if you want to feel better the loss of a non-QB W/L wise is at most a game on the season for talented players. Teams have overcome this before and won the big game, but it does make things feel slightly more daunting to say the least. 2 - Pass rush - Ed has been great this year and maybe people will quiet on his impact finally. 3 - Running backs - Had Brieda played from game one on as the main dude Buffalo is 8-3 not 7-4, I firmly believe we pissed away a game with him not in. He is fast and decisive in a way Singletary isn't and he uses his size well. 5 - Knox - I honestly was fine finding a replacement for him this offseason but credit to him developing and becoming a true threat. The offense is different with him in. If the Bills offense ascends the last five games it will be in large part to him, Brieda, & Beasley helping to diversify the offense across the board. 6 - Milano - Maybe he finally gets a Pro Bowl nod and the recognition he deserves. 7 - Saints Defense - I watched the Patriots defense and the biggest thing is they are opportunistic. They are really really good at trying to force fumbles and tipping balls. The Titans actually moved the ball on them decently they just failed to execute. Your right scheme wise def similar, NE doesn't have a CB of Lattimore's level but the group in general is really solid. Beasley and Knox need to feast on the middle IMO and Josh needs to do much of the slants and quick passes like he did in the Saints game for success. 8 - McKenzie - I think this was used as a wakeup call for the team that mistakes are over and if you do it your sitting. Probably not completely fair to Mckenzie as it was his first fumble in like 3 years, BUT that swung the game mammoth last week and I think McD was making a point that singular mistakes can wreck everything and basically putting the roster on notice. 10 - The Stretch - I honestly think this will be the Bills best game since KC. There is a lot of hype for NE and not enough said about Buffalo which will fire them up. They understand the task at hand and destiny they control at this point. I see Buffalo winning this and splitting the season series with NE, but both teams finishing tied at 11-6 so Buffalo takes the division. McD's teams have historically finished well in December (sounds really weird to say) and with NE they got four turnovers last week so law of averages is going to swing a bit on them. To me the scariest game remaining is Carolina as they can rush the passer well and it is an easy let down game after Pats & Bucs.

The AFC is loaded with young QB's who are looking to prove themselves in terms of winning the big game. Would you be stunned if come February you found out any one of these guys led their team outta of the AFC: Lamar Hebert Burrow Allen Jones (not as flashy but he does his job well and has BB coaching him) Mahomes (already done it) The Titans may not have the same caliber of QB in Tannehill but with Henry he is a different QB and even Carr in Oakland I could see Flacco-ing it for a stretch. Truthfully I am not sure of the last time the AFC was so open and fun in a sense. There is not a single playoff matchup that would not have intrigue and value. Meanwhile the NFC is reallyy top heavy and drops hard.

With the way this seasons been Buffalo will beat NE/TB then lose to CAR lol Last year was a better team in terms of consistency across the board and overall play. I think the 2021 Bills would beat the 2020 Bills with both teams at their peak and healthy, but 2020 you could depend on the team A LOT easier

This is my response for the next decade plus because of Allen. With Allen at QB they can make a run at any time. The key is putting it together as a team which they have not all season minus the KC game.

Football Life Missing Rings series the 88 Bengals are chronicled (missing ring due to losing in SB to 49ers last second) and Sam Wyche is very honest that a season or two prior he blew it as a coach in a situation like this. But he recovered and the team bought his honesty and change. Obviously I hope things go well for the Bills and McD, but many coaches have faced these situations and came out wrong and had to learn themselves how to overcome. As I said if you step back as a neutral observer it is a really interesting situation. As a Bills fan it f*cking sucks haha

This is a good take. I would add last year Beane was GM of the year and could do no wrong. Realistically you do not bat 1000 all the time, the Bills have had a lot of successful additions in the draft in free agency since they both arrived. This may be the first year in five I would say the additions have not panned out the way we all hoped and that is while acknowledging Sanders has been pretty good, Spencer Brown apparently is the key to everything (so good draft there), and the guys resigned were people we would not wanted to have lost (Milano). Now am I happy that it seems to be going sideways with this years group? Well no especially because an true difference maker up front pass rush wise and another O lineman for depth and I think they are 8-2 maybe 9-1. Matt Judon who of course went to NE was a guy I honestly wish we had to give more bite up front, I would've sacrificed Sanders for him salary wise. But flipside is maybe long term Boogie and Groot develop and the Bills have bookend DE's for 7-10 years. You do what you can and Beane/crew probably could've done a lot worse offseason wise just sometimes the chips do fall against you.

1 - Wentz - Agreed if they would've made Wentz pass we win 2 - Penalties - I think now the team is so frustrated that the moment things go sideways frustration sets in and the penalties build from there. I was at the game and you could see Allen's body language on Ford's penalty on 3rd down just say "you gotta be kidding me here we go again". Since the bye the only game that they have had smooth sailing was the Jets and the other three the penalties have really seemed to get to them. Some of the penalties are stupidity (Offside or netural zone), some just talent (holding), and some have just been frustration building that mixes those two. McD really needs to get these guys back to just playing smart and I think this would subside. They are playing almost too emotional. 3 - Ford - The O-Line in general was not the same problem it has been. The defense allowing the Colts to go up 14-7 and then 17-7 and then 24-7 killed any gameplan and allowed their front 7 to peal back their ears and go hard at the line. 5 - Moss - I thought he was an X factor as last season progressed until injury. Since then I am not sure if it is confidence or recovery or lack of effort but he has been awful. 6 - Special Teams - Andre Roberts cut looks so bad now 7 - Chiefs - Different Chiefs take. When they played KC Buffalo was the aggressor. Since KC Buffalo has not been the aggressor in a game. That energy is hard to channel but it is so needed. Whatever the case may be mentally they need to be willing to pay the price and make the other guy bleed regardless of how much blood they have on them already. That has been the single quality since the bye week they have missed the most in my eyes. 8 - Daboll - Agreed. Can't even judge as the game got out of hand so quick I am not sure what to say. The offense moved the ball and then went INT, TD, fumble, & missed FG. It was 24-7 by their 5th possession and your game plan is limited at that point. 9 - Dome - This game is the one that broke me in terms of weather. I am over sitting in rain soaked the entire game win or lose. I am over having an offense that is a Ferrari yet they are limited to 35 mph. I could give two sh*ts about old school football I just want to win and the weather limits this teams best strength to do so. 10 - McD - Anyone who tells me the Bucs last year were 7-5 I am ripping on at this point. I love Josh but he is not Brady at this time. If you told me Tampa started 0-4 I would say Brady could still win the SB because it is what he does. The season in general I lay at the hands of McD. This is the first season since he became coach I have questioned the teams effort and smart. The 2018 Bills would beat the team at this moment just simply because they played smarter and harder despite a real lack of talent. I have no doubt this team could turn it around and has the potential for big things. But at this current juncture I do doubt it happening. Not since the Peterman start has McD faced such a time where legitimate questions on his operation are at the forefront. I really believe 90% of the Bills issues would go away if he can just get this team to playing smart football and wanting to punch the other team first (figuratively). Since the bye they look like a team that has read the headlines and are entitled. That is on the coach no one else. Like you said I want to see more creativity and urgency scheme wise and play wise. Stepping back as a neutral fan it is a fascinating situation as this is the biggest adversity McD has had, being an ascending team is easy and fun, being the cream of the crop with the goal of SB is a true challenge in focus and coaching.

I am very interested this off season who departs. They brought the crew back because they believed in this group after last year and what they did, but its clear this group aint making it and changes will be needed.

Matt Judon was a guy I wanted and the moment I saw he went to NE I figured he was gonna do well.

I would add the Billievers Band before the game behind the big scoreboard was amazing and people were jamming hard. Unfortunately the fans were more into it then the team

I mean I think for the next few years Buffalo will still be viewed as a team very much in the thick of it. It is on the Bills to finish the job and not be an also ran.